DeLong was Rumsfeld¿s ¿answer man¿ during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And while Gen. Tommy Franks was in the field, former Marine pilot DeLong ran CentCom, the nerve center of both wars. This book tells you what only insiders have known up to now: How Pres. Bush had a chance to take out Saddam before the war -- and why he chose not to; How the idea of invading Iraq came up as early as Sept. 11, 2001; Al-Qaeda and Saddam -- why CentCom believes they are co-conspirators; Why CentCom knew in advance that the U.N. would never approve military action against Iraq; Why chaos in Iraq was greater than predicted -- and the mistakes that contributed to it; and The failure of Ahmed Chalabi¿s Iraqi ¿freedom fighters¿ as American allies.

Illus.